“Don’t take any notice of anybody who tells you that it is impossible to have good pitches the following season”


on, we were applying to various organisations for funding. We were successful in obtaining grants of £15,000 from DEFRA, £1,000 from the ECB, £1,500 from the Parish Council and £1,000 from another local funding organisation. This covered the cost of the work.


ALL this planning took approximately 12 months. We asked the Westmorland League not to allocate any cricket at our ground after August 2004 and Turfcare were booked to start the work 1st September. On the 2nd September, after a day’s work with a digger, I regretted ever starting. The place looked like a bomb site and I wondered if we’d ever play cricket on it again. The previous square had a considerable slope across the width of the pitches. I was never happy with this and I was determined to eradicate as much of this as possible. This would mean the work taking longer and would be technically more difficult for the contractor. Terry and several of our Committee members argued that we should follow the existing contours, however I was determined to stick to my guns. I knew we only had one chance at this and, eventually, I got their support. It was agreed that we would remove 50% of the gradient. This meant that, when completed, the bottom end of the square would have an 8” ledge where it joined the outfield. We had to buy 100 tonne of topsoil to grade this out. Further topsoil will be brought in over the years to improve it.


The loam was built up in layers with a tractor and a 2 tonne hopper and, by the end of day 4, it was all in and we were happy with the levels. On day 5, after final levelling, it was seeded with a star seeder. 50 kilos of seed were used, made up of three different cultivars of dwarf perennial rye grass, merci, greenfair and ace. Finally, a pre-seeding fertiliser was applied. A further 25 kilos of seed was applied to the outfield where we had graded it in.


AT this point I must point out that the contractor and several professional and amateur groundsmen told me there would be no bounce the following season, the ball would simply pitch and roll. I listened to what they said but never once accepted it. I was determined to do everything I possibly could


to ensure that we not only had good bounce but also good pace the following season.


Initially, germination was patchy due


to an extended dry period. This meant I had to do a lot of watering, which never has the same effect as natural rain. However, as time went by, it evened up and, after about a month, there was sufficient growth to enable me to cut it with the cylinder mower set at its maximum height. For the first two or three mowings, I didn’t manage to take too much off as the grass was very soft and the front roller tended to lay it down. However, this improved with each mowing.


During the second week in October, I took a chance and applied 35 kilos of Growmore, hoping the frosts would be late. I was lucky. Throughout the winter I topped the grass as often as possible when the weather allowed with the cylinder mower set at 1”. I was determined to achieve as much tillering as possible. The third week in February, I applied autumn and winter fertiliser and started rolling with the 5cwt roller and sarrelled the entire square three times at fortnightly intervals. In the middle of the second week of March, I rolled for the first time with our one ton diesel roller, but then we had a cold spell and I couldn’t do any more rolling for 2½ weeks. Rolling recommenced in April with the roller ballasted up to 1½ tonne. By now the square was starting to look and feel good. The second week in April, I applied 40 kilos of spring and summer fertiliser and during the third week, I applied weedkiller. With hindsight


I probably should have waited a bit longer. We approached the League asking them not to allocate any cricket to our ground until the 1st May. This gave us an extra week and I really feel this helped. By then, the square felt fully consolidated and had a really dense covering of ryegrass. I knew I was in with a chance.


As normal, I started preparing the first pitch 12 days prior to the game, gradually reducing the height of cut, raking, brushing and rolling until, by match day, the pitch was cut at 3mm and looked fantastic. It was as hard as concrete, I have never seen a harder pitch in this area and had a nice even coverage of grass. It looked fantastic, a white pitch in the middle of a lush green square. But how would it play? I had bounced the odd ball on it, and I must admit I was concerned as I sat nervously on the boundary waiting for the game to commence. I am pleased to say that the bounce and pace were superb, far better than the old Mendip pitches. Stump high off a length and consistent, which is what I always try to achieve.


I have prepared three pitches now and all of them have had the same consistent pace and bounce. There has been some settlement on the square resulting in the pitches not being just as level as I would like. I will attend to this with localised top dressing in the autumn. We have the County Under 15’s twice this year for a one day match and the Under 17’s in August for a two day match. I am now confident that we can provide them with the high quality pitches that the standard of their game demands.


WARTON Cricket Club are very happy with the quality of the work carried out by Terry Charlton’s company. Terry has always been available via telephone if I have needed any advice or information regarding the aftercare of the project. My advice to any club considering undertaking a similar project – don’t rush into it, plan it thoroughly, be prepared to undertake a considerable amount of hard work, and don’t take any notice of anybody who tells you that it is impossible to have good pitches the following season.


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